Editing Adirondack Mountains (section)

== Ecology ==
[[File:SpottedNorthern.png|thumb|A [[spotted turtle]] at the Wild Center.]]
The Adirondack Mountains form the southernmost part of the [[Eastern forest-boreal transition]] [[ecoregion]].<ref name="ecoregions">{{Citation|author=Olson |title=Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth |journal=[[BioScience]] |year=2001 |volume=51 |issue=11 |pages=933–938 |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2 |author2=D. M. |author3=E. Dinerstein |display-authors=3 |last4=Burgess |first4=Neil D. |last5=Powell |first5=George V. N. |last6=Underwood |first6=Emma C. |last7=d'Amico |first7=Jennifer A. |last8=Itoua |first8=Illanga |last9=Strand |first9=Holly E. |postscript=. |doi-access=free }}</ref> They are heavily forested, and contain one of the southernmost distributions of the [[taiga]] ecotype in North America. The forests of the Adirondacks include [[spruce]], [[pine]] and [[deciduous]] trees. Lumbering, once an important industry, has been much restricted by the creation of state forest preserve.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Adirondacks|volume=1|page=193}}</ref>

The mountains include many [[wetland]]s, of which there are three kinds:<ref name=storey/>
* [[swamp]]s, any wetland including trees and shrubs.
* [[marsh]]es, wetlands with [[water stagnation]]. These may support [[bullfrog]]s, [[spring peeper]]s, [[spotted salamander]]s, [[great blue heron]]s, [[American bittern]]s, and [[painted turtles]]. [[Pickerel weed]] often forms large colonies.
* [[bog]]s, characterized by plants like [[sphagnum moss]], [[orchid]]s, and [[pitcher plant]]s.

Breeding birds include northern forest specialists not found anywhere else in the state, such as [[boreal chickadee]]s, [[Canada jay]]s, [[spruce grouse]], [[black-backed woodpecker]]s, [[common loon]]s and [[crossbill]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Breeding Bird 2000-2005 Atlas |url=https://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/bba/ |website=[[New York City Department of Environmental Conservation]] |publisher=[[New York State Department of Environmental Conservation]]}}</ref> Mammals include [[raccoon]]s, [[North American beaver|beaver]]s, [[North American river otter|river otter]]s, [[bobcat]]s, [[eastern moose|moose]], [[American black bear|black bear]]s, and [[eastern coyote|coyote]]s. [[Extirpated]] or [[extinct]] mammals that formerly roamed the Adirondacks include the [[eastern cougar]], [[eastern elk]], [[wolverine]], [[caribou]], [[eastern wolf]], and the [[Canada lynx]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adirondack.net/wildlife/coyotes/|title=Facts About Coyotes In The Adirondacks|website=Adirondack.net}}</ref> Attempted reintroductions of elk and lynx in the 20th century failed for numerous reasons, including poaching, vehicle collisions, and conservation incompetence.<ref name=harris>{{cite book|last1=Omohundro|first1=John|last2=Harris|first2=Glenn R.|title=An environmental history of New York's north country : the Adirondack Mountains and the St. Lawrence River Valley : case studies and neglected topics|date=2012|publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]]|location=[[Lewiston, New York]]|isbn=978-0773426283|pages=99–111|edition=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Canada Lynx - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation|url=https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6980.html|access-date=2021-07-03|website=[[New York City Department of Environmental Conservation]]}}</ref>

Nearly 60 percent of the park is covered with [[northern hardwood forest]]. Above {{convert|2600|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}, conditions are too poor for hardwoods to thrive, and the trees become mixed with or replaced by [[balsam fir]] and [[red spruce]]. Above {{convert|3500|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} [[black spruce]] replace red. Higher still, only trees short enough to be covered in snow during the winter can survive.

A small area on the highest peaks exists above the [[tree line]] and has an [[alpine climate]]. These areas are covered by plants which occupied a large lowland tundra following the most recent period of glaciation. The amount of area covered by this ecosystem changes from year to year due to local climate changes, and has been estimated to only cover between {{Convert|65-85|acre|hectare}}. The alpine ecosystem is considered extremely fragile, and was damaged by hikers prior to a 1970s campaign by the [[Adirondack Mountain Club]] to preserve it.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carlson |first1=Bradley Z. |last2=Munroe |first2=Jeffrey S. |last3=Hegman |first3=Bill |date=2011 |title=Distribution of Alpine Tundra in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, U.S.A. |journal=[[Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=331–342|doi=10.1657/1938-4246-43.3.331 |s2cid=53579861 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011AAAR...43..331C }}</ref>
{{Gallery
 |title= Scenes from the Adirondacks
|mode = packed
 |File: Adirondacks in May 2008.jpg
   |The Adirondack Mountains of [[Upstate New York]] form the southernmost zone in the [[Eastern forest-boreal transition]] [[ecoregion]] of [[North America]].
 |File: Lake Tear of the Clouds.png
   |The [[source (river)|hydrologic source]] of the [[Hudson River]] is near or at [[Lake Tear of the Clouds]], a small [[tarn (lake)|tarn]] in the Adirondacks.
 |File: Lake George from village beach.jpg
   |[[Lake George (lake), New York|Lake George]], one of numerous [[oligotrophic lake]]s in the Adirondack region, is nicknamed the ''Queen of American Lakes''.
 |File: Lake Placid - Mirror Lake.jpg
   |[[Mirror Lake (New York)|Mirror Lake]] in the Village of [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]] in the Adirondacks, site of the [[1932 Winter Olympics|1932]] and the [[1980 Winter Olympics]].
 |File: Saranac Lake - Lake Flower.jpg
   |[[Lake Flower]] in the Village of [[Saranac Lake, New York|Saranac Lake]], nicknamed the ''Capital of the Adirondacks''.
 |File: View_of_Mount_Colvin_and_Nippletop_from_Pyramid_Peak.jpg
   |View of [[Mount Colvin]] and [[Nippletop]] from the ascent to [[Gothics]].
}}